Epilepsy: 50 million people worldwide have seizures—but three quarters can’t get treatment
Epilepsy: 50 million affected—70% could be seizure-free with treatment
Twelve-year-old Kofi collapsed during morning assembly at his school in rural Ghana.
His body stiffened, then began jerking uncontrollably. Foam appeared at his mouth. His classmates screamed and scattered, some crying, others staring in horror. The headmaster, believing Kofi was possessed by evil spirits, ordered him dragged outside the school gate and left on the dusty road.
When Kofi’s mother Grace arrived, her son was unconscious, bruised from the fall, his school uniform torn. This was his fourth seizure in three months, but the first time anyone outside the family had witnessed one.
“The headmaster said Kofi could not return to school,” Grace recalled, tears streaming down her face. “He said the other children were frightened, that Kofi was cursed. Our neighbors stopped talking to us. At church, people moved away when we sat down. My own sister said I must have done something terrible for God to punish my child this way.”
Kofi has epilepsy—a chronic brain disease affecting approximately 50 million people worldwide. According to WHO’s work on epilepsy, an estimated 70% of people with epilepsy could be seizure-free if properly diagnosed and treated.
But here’s the tragedy: about three quarters of people with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need, and this rises to 90% in some countries. The treatment exists. The solutions are proven. Yet millions suffer because of gaps in healthcare, lack of trained professionals, unavailable medications—and crushing stigma.
Understanding the Most Common Brain Disease
Epilepsy is the most common chronic brain disease and affects people of all ages. Nearly 80% of the 50 million people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries.
Epilepsy is not contagious and is characterized by seizures, which occur because of temporary excessive electrical activity in the brain. Think of the brain as having millions of electrical circuits. Normally, these fire in organized patterns. In epilepsy, groups of brain cells sometimes fire together in abnormal bursts, like an electrical storm.
During seizures, people may lose consciousness or awareness, lose control of bowel or bladder function, may not be able to hear or see properly, and their movements may become disturbed. The loss of movement control and sensation can cause injuries from falls—like when Kofi fell during school assembly.
According to WHO fact sheets on epilepsy, seizures vary enormously. Some people just stare blankly for a few seconds. Others have their whole body convulse violently. Some people remain aware throughout, while others lose consciousness completely.
A diagnosis of epilepsy is made by a health professional if there is medical history of at least two seizures. Often this is further confirmed by electroencephalography (EEG), a painless technological method to record and study the electrical activity of the brain.
For more on brain health conditions, see our article on neurological disorders and brain health.
Treatment Works—When People Can Access It
Treatment for epilepsy can be very effective. With antiseizure medicines, up to 70% of people living with epilepsy could become seizure-free. After 2 years of taking medicines without any seizures, a health professional may advise stopping the medicines.
Where medicines are not helpful in relieving the condition, some types of surgery can be beneficial. Since people with epilepsy have higher occurrence of psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression, psychosocial help is also useful.
The medications aren’t new or expensive. Most antiseizure medicines are off-patent, meaning generic versions cost pennies per dose. The treatments are proven safe and effective. Medical professionals can learn to prescribe them with basic training.
Dr. Samuel Adjei, a neurologist who has worked across West Africa, explained the frustration: “I see patients whose seizures could be completely controlled with medication costing less than ten dollars per year. Ten dollars. But they can’t get it because the medicine isn’t available in their district, or the health clinic has no one trained to prescribe it, or they can’t afford transport to reach a facility that does have it. So they continue having seizures, continue suffering injuries, continue being excluded from school and work and community life—all for want of ten dollars worth of medicine.”
The Treatment Gap Crisis
In many countries, many health professionals do not have the training to recognize, diagnose, and treat epilepsy. In most resource-poor countries, antiseizure medicines are not available.
WHO’s technical brief on improving lives of people with epilepsy, published in December 2022, highlighted that this “treatment gap”—the difference between the number of people with epilepsy and the number receiving appropriate treatment—is unacceptably large.
The WHO Programme on Reducing the Epilepsy Treatment Gap combined several innovative strategies to support access and care to services for people with epilepsy. The Programme was implemented in four countries—Ghana, Mozambique, Myanmar, and Viet Nam—and demonstrated that integrating epilepsy care in primary health care can significantly reduce the treatment gap.
Feature stories document success: WHO reported on scaling up epilepsy care in Myanmar, pilot studies helping close the treatment gap, and the fight against epilepsy in Ghana.
Based on evidence-based methods of the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), WHO supports training of primary care, non-specialist health care providers to diagnose, treat, and follow up people with epilepsy.
The Burden of Stigma
In many parts of the world, the true nature of epilepsy has long been distorted by myths, fear, and mistaken notions about the disorder. People with epilepsy and their families frequently suffer from stigma and discrimination.
Grace, Kofi’s mother, experienced this firsthand. After her son was expelled from school, she took him to a traditional healer who performed rituals to “cast out the demon.” When seizures continued, neighbors whispered that Grace must be a witch who had cursed her own child. Family members stopped visiting. At the market, people refused to buy from her.
“I felt so alone,” Grace said. “I didn’t know anyone else with this problem. I thought maybe they were right, maybe I had done something wrong. I was terrified every time Kofi had a seizure. Would he stop breathing? Would he hurt himself? And I was ashamed—ashamed that people thought my son was cursed.”
This stigma has real consequences. Children are excluded from school. Adults lose jobs or can’t find employment. People are forbidden from marrying. Families are socially isolated. The psychological impact compounds the medical condition.
According to WHO’s work on mental health and brain health, addressing stigma is as important as providing medical treatment.
Global Action Plan: Hope for Change
In May 2022, WHO Member States adopted Resolution WHA 68.20 on the global burden of epilepsy and the need for coordinated action.
The Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022-2031, published in November 2025, aims to improve access to care and treatment. WHO announced the new global action plan in July 2023.
The action plan addresses epilepsy as part of broader neurological care. In October 2025, WHO reported that 11 million lives are lost each year, with urgent action needed on neurological care.
WHO’s Department of Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use coordinates these efforts. WHO also published a position paper in August 2022 on optimizing brain health across the life course.
The comprehensive report Epilepsy: a public health imperative, published in June 2019, was the first global report summarizing available evidence on the burden of epilepsy and public health responses.
WHO maintains the ATLAS Country Resources for Neurological Disorders, tracking resources available in different countries.
What Must Happen
Closing the epilepsy treatment gap requires action on multiple fronts:
Train health workers: Primary care providers can learn to diagnose and manage epilepsy with relatively brief training. The mhGAP approach has proven this works.
Ensure medicine availability: Antiseizure medicines must be included in essential medicines lists and made available at primary health care level. Supply chains must function reliably.
Combat stigma: Public education campaigns must correct misconceptions about epilepsy, emphasizing that it’s a treatable brain condition, not a curse or punishment.
Integrate into primary care: Epilepsy care doesn’t require specialists for most patients. Primary health care integration dramatically improves access.
Support mental health: Addressing anxiety and depression that often accompany epilepsy improves overall outcomes.
Protect rights: People with epilepsy must be protected from discrimination in education, employment, and social participation.
Grace eventually learned about a WHO-supported epilepsy program operating in a town three hours from her village. She took Kofi to the clinic, where a trained nurse examined him, confirmed the diagnosis of epilepsy, and prescribed antiseizure medication.
“Within two months, Kofi’s seizures stopped completely,” Grace said, her face lighting up. “He’s been seizure-free for a year now. The program helped us talk to the school, educate the headmaster about epilepsy. Kofi is back in class. He’s excelling in mathematics. Our neighbors saw him improve and started asking questions. Now when I explain that epilepsy is a medical condition that can be treated, people listen.”
With 50 million people worldwide affected by epilepsy, and 70% potentially seizure-free with treatment, the path forward is clear. The challenge isn’t medical—it’s ensuring access, training providers, supplying medicines, and ending stigma. The solutions exist. We must implement them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Epilepsy is the most common chronic brain disease and affects people of all ages. More than 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, with nearly 80% living in low- and middle-income countries. Epilepsy is not contagious and is characterized by seizures, which occur because of temporary excessive electrical activity in the brain. During seizures, people may lose consciousness or awareness, lose control of bowel or bladder function, may not be able to hear or see properly, and their movements may become disturbed. The loss of movement control and sensation can cause injuries from falls. According to WHO fact sheets on epilepsy, seizures vary enormously—some people just stare blankly for a few seconds while others have their whole body convulse violently. A diagnosis of epilepsy is made by a health professional if there is medical history of at least two seizures, often confirmed by electroencephalography (EEG), a painless method to record and study the brain’s electrical activity. WHO reported in October 2025 that 11 million lives are lost each year to neurological conditions, with urgent action needed.
Treatment for epilepsy can be very effective. With antiseizure medicines, up to 70% of people living with epilepsy could become seizure-free. After 2 years of taking medicines without any seizures, a health professional may advise stopping the medicines. Where medicines are not helpful in relieving the condition, some types of surgery can be beneficial. Since people with epilepsy have higher occurrence of psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression, psychosocial help is also useful. However, an estimated 70% of people with epilepsy could be seizure-free if properly diagnosed and treated, yet about three quarters of people with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need, rising to 90% in some countries. In many such countries, many health professionals do not have the training to recognize, diagnose, and treat epilepsy. In most resource-poor countries, antiseizure medicines are not available. WHO’s technical brief on improving lives of people with epilepsy published in December 2022 sets out actions required to deliver an integrated approach to epilepsy care and treatment. See also WHO’s work on mental health and brain health.
The “treatment gap” is the difference between the number of people with epilepsy and the number receiving appropriate treatment. About three quarters of people with epilepsy in low-income countries do not get the treatment they need, and this rises to 90% in some countries. In many countries, many health professionals do not have the training to recognize, diagnose, and treat epilepsy. In most resource-poor countries, antiseizure medicines are not available. The WHO Programme on Reducing the Epilepsy Treatment Gap combined several innovative strategies to support access and care to services for people with epilepsy and was implemented in four countries—Ghana, Mozambique, Myanmar, and Viet Nam. Previous WHO collaborative programmes showed that integrating epilepsy care in primary health care can significantly reduce the treatment gap. Based on evidence-based methods of the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), WHO supports training of primary care, non-specialist health care providers to diagnose, treat, and follow up people with epilepsy. WHO featured success stories on scaling up epilepsy care in Myanmar, pilot studies helping close the treatment gap, and the fight against epilepsy in Ghana.
People with epilepsy and their families frequently suffer from stigma and discrimination. In many parts of the world, the true nature of epilepsy has long been distorted by myths, fear, and mistaken notions about the disorder. This stigma has real consequences—children are excluded from school, adults lose jobs or can’t find employment, people are forbidden from marrying, and families are socially isolated. The psychological impact compounds the medical condition. Since people with epilepsy have higher occurrence of psychological conditions such as anxiety and depression, psychosocial help is useful. Addressing stigma requires public education campaigns to correct misconceptions about epilepsy, emphasizing that it’s a treatable brain condition, not a curse or punishment. WHO’s work on mental health and brain health addresses these issues. WHO’s December 2022 brief sets out actions needed to improve lives of people with epilepsy including addressing stigma. The comprehensive report Epilepsy: a public health imperative published June 2019 was the first global report summarizing evidence on burden of epilepsy and public health responses including stigma reduction.
WHO is working with ministries of health and partners to improve access to treatment for epilepsy. In May 2022, WHO Member States adopted Resolution WHA 68.20 on the global burden of epilepsy and need for coordinated action. The Intersectoral global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological disorders 2022-2031 published in November 2025 aims to improve access to care and treatment. WHO announced the new global action plan in July 2023. WHO’s Department of Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use coordinates efforts. WHO published technical brief on improving lives of people with epilepsy in December 2022, position paper on optimizing brain health across the life course in August 2022, and maintains the ATLAS Country Resources for Neurological Disorders. Based on evidence-based methods of WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), WHO supports training of primary care providers to diagnose, treat, and follow up people with epilepsy, demonstrating that integrating epilepsy care in primary health care can significantly reduce the treatment gap.
- WHO Epilepsy Health Topic
- WHO Epilepsy Fact Sheet
- WHO Mental Disorders Fact Sheet
- Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders 2022-2031 (Nov 2025)
- Improving the Lives of People with Epilepsy: Technical Brief (Dec 2022)
- Optimizing Brain Health Across the Life Course: WHO Position Paper (Aug 2022)
- Epilepsy: A Public Health Imperative (June 2019)
Disclaimer: This article is an adaptation of publicly available information from WHO’s Epilepsy
health topic page (WHO, Geneva. Licence: CC BYNC-SA 3.0 IGO). WHO is not responsible for the
content or accuracy of this adaptation. This content is for informational and educational purposes
only and does not constitute medical advice. ObserverVoice.com is a news and information platform
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